Masquerade
by Ms.Shakespeare
Summary: As Ami is dealing with her immortality,and the fact that the friends that she knew and loved,have now somehow changed and morphed into completely different people,she finds comfort in realizing that one person is still the same.One shot.


A/N:Hey!This is the new and improved version of 'Masquerade'.I tweaked it a little,because I thought it needed some adjusments,but now I'm happy with it!Please review and let me know if it was good or not-so-good...I'm a big girl...I can take it...just don't go too hard on me...I'm also senstive... :)

MASQUERADE

Paradisiacal.  
  
That was one word to describe it.  
  
Crystal Tokyo was magnificent, to say least.  
  
There never was a day where a cloud was ever seen in that beautiful canvas of blue. And at night, the stars were scattered all across the sky, and the moon seemed be magnified by a thousand times. The sunsets in Crystal Tokyo seemed to last forever. And the waters were so ambrosial that you could bathe in them for hours on end.  
  
For Ami, Crystal Tokyo was just of a painful reminder of what was, and isn't anymore. To Ami, Crystal Tokyo was just an ongoing current of masquerades and lavish parties, consisting of dancing and wonderful dining, and meaningless talk about the latest crowned royal of whatever planet. It was completely and utterly meaningless.  
  
Ami had servants whose central task was to carefully plan a routine for each day of her life. Meaning that she would be told what to wear,and what to do,and how to act, for eternity.

Maybe she would find a way to get around it. Maybe her "gargantuan brain", as Neo Queen Serenity used to call it in the past,could help her.Maybe she would figure out a way,devise a plan,so that she didn't have to live forever.She could try.After all,what did she earn her medical degree for?She had already saved billions of lives,she had already found the cures to diseases that no one even knew existed.  
  
What other purpose could she serve?What was left to do?  
  
She had already loved and lost, and her friends from long ago, her soulmates,had now somehow changed.  
  
Raye no longer tended to the shrine,for she said it brought back unwanted memories from the death of her grandfather,and the death of her only love,Yuuichirou.Her life now was in the palace beside Neo Queen Serenity,and Neo King Endymion,almost as a servant to Serenity,tending to her every need,always walking one step behind them at the royal masqueredes.The charismatic energy about Raye,the articulate intelligence about her,had become less and less over time.And now,all that was left was the an empty shell of nothingness.Raye's current priority,was to serve the king and queen.  
  
That's what her life had become.  
  
Makoto no longer has that soulful passion about her.The magnetism that attracted people to her.The mystery was gone.The beauty was gone.And she no longer cooked,but now has chefs to prepare her food,and she couldn't even remember the recipes to the dishes that made her famous among the Sailor Senshi.The sandwiches that she used make especially for Ami,with that magical touch that always made them taste a hundred times better than when anyone else  
made them,it's like everything that once defined who she was,dissapeared into thin air.  
  
It vanished.  
  
Mianko no longer had dreams of stardom,afterall,everyone already knew who she was.She was already famous.And even though,it wasn't the kind of fame used to dream of,it was fame nonetheless.Minako resigned to all her "foolish school girl fantasies",as she so called it now.And now,when you look into her eyes,all you see is a blue that has seemed to have slowly washed away with the years,instead of the bright,cheerful blue that once rested in her eyes.The innocent girl that brought cheer and happiness anywhere she went has been replaced wth someone who just happens to look a lot like the Minako they used to know.  
  
And finally Serenity,her majesty,the fire that everyone else warmed themselves with. The person who taught Ami about how much fun life actually could be,the person who inspired her to take a break from the books,and enjoy a little freedom once in a while.That person who Ami felt so much love towards,no longer existed. Serenity was now quiet,and reclusive.The only connection that Ami had to her,was through the masquerades.There,Serenity would sit at her throne,with Mamoru next to her,silently admiring the people dancing in the balloom.  
  
And that was it.That's what all they're lives had become.After so many years in battle together.After so many years of  
frienship,it had all effaced with time.

It was all dust in the wind.  
  
A knock at the door broke through the silence in the room.  
  
"Come in",Ami announced.The door creacked as it opened.Ami looked up,half expecting to find Amaya,the guide,with the inteniorary for the day.She looked and saw a pair of pensive blue eyes framed by a white mask."Good Evening,Ami". Neo King Endymion walked in,with his excellent posture,those broad shoulders of his,in the perfect position.  
  
"Good Evening,Endymion",she responded,standing up and bowing her head slightly.Mamoru walked a few steps in Ami's direction."Serenity wanted me to ask your reason for not being at the ball tonight".Mamoru's voice was deep,and well-projected.  
  
Ami looked down briefly,avoiding his eyes.The king had the most attentive gaze she had ever seen,and it often made her uneasy."I felt that my prescence was not needed",Ami replied hesitantly.  
  
Mamoru scrunched his brow."You felt that you're prescence was not needed?"He asked."Yes",Ami answered instantly."But Ami, you're part of this kingdom,and wihtout you,it all feels incomplete."He explained,taking a few steps closer.  
  
"My intention was not to offend you or Serenity in any way,but...".Ami began,and Mamoru nodded her on,running gloved fingers through his thick,dark hair."Is there anything ocurring around here besides the masquarades,and catillians?Is there any other purpose for my being here?"Ami kept her voice soft.Mamoru scrunched up his face in bewilderment."Of course there is".He stated quietly,almost to himself.  
  
Solemnly,Mamoru looked down at the floor.The tiles had been expensive,imported from the Andromeda galaxy.Slowly,he reached over and took Ami's delicate hands in his much larger ones,causing the warmth from his gloves to radiate.Ami's breathing was unbelieavebly steady,Mamoru noted.  
  
"How can you ask such a thing?".He asked,his words escaping his lips in calm,subtle movements.  
  
Ami looked to the side of the room,trying to get away from Mamoru's piercing eyes.She found herself staring at a painting.  
  
It was a peaceful landscape,filled with emerald greens,and indigo blues.  
  
"You're..."Mamoru paused for a second,almost as if recollecting himself.  
  
Ami eyes were still fixed on the beautiful blues of the painting.  
  
"What would make you think that you're not needed?What gave you such an idea?"Mamoru asked,his brows furrowing,his masculine jaw clenched in puzzlement.  
  
Ami looked up to meet Mamoru's gaze,and their eyes interlocked.  
  
"Haven't you noticed?"She asked,her eyes, soft with sorrow.When he didn't answer,she continued."They've all changed".She explained,her eyes still locked onto Mamoru's.Mamoru looked down briefly,then regained his compusure,almost as if being wounded by Ami's words.  
  
"Raye lives in the palace now,and sharing a shelter with Serenity,you'de think that they would argue and curse at each  
  
other,like old times,but I as you,have they done so,at ll?".Amy stopped,holding back tears.  
  
"Not once,right?",she whispered."And Makoto,she's become anonamys".Ami continued."Have you looked into Minako's eyes lately?"Ami asked,realizing that Mamoru was listeneing intently."There's nothing there."She said quietly,the tears now streaming down her porcelain cheeks.  
  
Ami removed her hands away from Mamoru's,and curled her arms around herself,seeking comfort in the silk fabric of her dress. Mamoru reached over and wiped a tear that was running down her face,the thick fabric of his glove absorbing the moisture quickly."Yes,you're right.They have changed."He admitted,getting rid of the remaining tears lingering on her skin. Ami looked up to find Mamoru smiling down at her."But just because they've changed..."  
  
He stopped,reached for the mask that hid his face...  
  
"It doesn't mean I have".And took it off.  
  
The hansome features that Ami remembered as belonging to a person that always seemed to understand her,were revealed. Mamoru took the mask and enclosed it in Ami's fragile hands.He leaned in and whispered,"In your hands,you hold my identity.My true self".Mamoru's breath felt warm against her neck."I'll never change."She could sense a smile spreading across his face.  
  
Mamoru pulled away,leaving her engulfed in the scent of his cologne.  
  
"Oh,Mamoru-san",she whispered,her eyes projecting joyful relief.  
  
In that instant,her entire world revolved around Mamoru's beloved blue eyes,and the fact that they were still the same shade of blue that they had once been...so long ago.


End file.
